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 SIL-ACE  

The SIL Advanced Central Evaluation (ACE) is New Zealand’s national across flock and breed sheep evaluation to identify the best rams for economic traits. Not all SIL flocks are in the SIL-ACE evaluation - flocks must "opt-in" to participate. 

SIL-ACE provides three major outputs for the New Zealand sheep industry. FlockFinder is a tool to help ram buyers locate flocks with genetic information on traits they want to improve. RamFinder is a tool to help ram breeders locate individual animals with specific combinations of genetic merit for traits they specify. Lastly, SIL also produces Sire Leader Lists to identify high genetic merit sires for a number of indexes and goal traits. These lists can be downloaded in pdf and comma delimited text file (csv file) formats. 

A new tool, BreederFinder, helps users find contact information for specific SIL breeder's flocks. It replaced the old Breeder Search tool in Sep-2011.

 

Further information on this webpage

 

Useful information for SIL-ACE

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How SIL-ACE works

ACE stands for Advanced Central Evaluation. It is a SIL initiative to conduct across-flock and across-breed genetic evaluations for key production traits in sheep.

SIL-ACE evaluations are made possible by genetic connections between breeds generated by both the Beef+Lamb New Zealand Central Progeny Test and industry breeding groups.Without such connections, we cannot make valid comparisons of genetic merit between animals in different flocks.

  • SIL-ACE information provides better information to ram buyers and ram buyers. Two online tools provide help idenitify flocks to buy rams from.
    • FlockFinder identifies flocks that record performance information on traits a ram buyer is seeking to improve. Flocks found can provide information on genetic merit for these traits. You do not need to know SIL technical terms to use FlockFinder. This tool only searches among SIL flocks participating in SIL-ACE.
    • RamFinder is designed for ram breeders to locate animals with specific combinations of genetic merit. You need to be familiar with SIL technical terms to use this tool. This tool only searches among SIL flocks participating in SIL-ACE.
    • BreederFinder helps find a breeder or flock name when you have partial information. Fill in the fields you know and the search will return flock and contact information for those SIL flocks matching your search. This tool searches among all active performance recording flocks on SIL, not just those in SIL-ACE. BreederFinder will replace the old Breeder Search tool.
  • SIL also produces SIL-ACE Sire "Leader Lists".
    • These identify top sires for a range of indexes and goal traits e.g. typical dual purpose sheep, high performance dual purpose sheep (high lambing percentages) and terminal sire sheep. In addition sires are ranked on goal traits including lamb growth, carcass merit (Meat Yield), reproductive ability, wool production and host resistance to parasites.
    • Only sires with a minimum number of progeny with performance measurements which have been used in genetically connected flocks are on the SIL-ACE sire leader lists.   
    • Leader lists are publicly available and updated at approximately two month intervals. Results of some previous analyses are also available. On the Sire Leader Lists page (previously called the SIL-ACE downloads page) you will also find a Percentile Bands table to use as a yardstick when assessing SIL-ACE eBvs and indexes plus a listing of those flocks particpating in this SIL-ACE evaluation shwoing which traits each flock is genetcially connected for. it is only valid to compare eBVs and associated indexes for animals born or used in flocks genetically connected to the main SIL-ACE group of flocks. Click here for more information about flock connectedness.
  • SIL-ACE percentile bands tables are an easy-to-use yard-stick for assessing relative genetic merit in SIL-ACE. More detail can be found under the "How to..." link above. A percentile bands table for the latest SIL-ACE evaluation is provided on the Sire Leader Lists page.
  • A list of flocks particpating in SIL-ACE together with traits each flock is connected for, is provided on the Sire Leader Lists page.

Background to SIL-ACE

The SIL Advanced Central Evaluation (ACE) is New Zealand’s national across flock and breed evaluation to identify the best rams for economic traits. Ram breeders provide permission for their flock to be included, and the flock also has to satisfy specific criteria.  

SIL FLOCKS MUST OPT IN to participate in SIL-ACE - Ram breeders wanting their flocks to be included in SIL-ACE evaluations must request SIL to do this using the SIL-ACE Particpation Form. 

To participate in SIL-ACE flocks must be performance recording on SIL and ideally should have good genetic connections with other flocks. The breadth of genetic connections between flocks is made possible by links between breeds, some of which are generated by breeders, but mainly by the Beef+Lamb New Zealand Central Progeny Test. 

For comparisons of genetic merit betwen animals from different flocks, good genetic connections between flocks are fundamentally important. SIL only presents genetic information on individual animals which meet this requirement. This requires animals to be from flocks genetically connected to the main SIL-ACE flock group for the trait or to have a sufficient number of progeny with perfromance measurments in such flocks.

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